Traffic: The Miniseries is a three-part feature on the United States cable channel USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

 in 2004 featuring an ensemble cast portraying the complex world of drugs, their distribution, the associated violence, and the wide variety of people whose lives are touched by it all. The mini-series was partially shot in Kamloops, Ashcroft, and Cache Creek, B.C. standing in for Afghanistan.

It was inspired by the 1989 television miniseries Traffik

Traffik

Traffik is a 1989 British television serial about the illegal drugs trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Pakistani growers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. It was nominated for six BAFTA Awards, winning three...

made by Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 in Britain and the 2000 motion picture Traffic

Traffic (2000 film)

Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...

directed by Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh

Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...

.

The American version was nominated for three Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

s. Traffic: The Miniseries was directed by Eric Bross

Eric Bross

Eric Bross is an American film director. He has directed numerous films from 1995 to now.- External links :...

 and Stephen Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins (director)

Stephen Hopkins is a Jamaican-born film director and producer. He is best-known for his continuation of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and the Predator franchise with Predator 2...

 and written by Ron Hutchinson

Ron Hutchinson (screenwriter)

Ron Hutchinson is an Emmy Award winning screenwriter, known for writing John Frankenheimer's Against the Wall, Robert M. Young's Slave of Dreams, John Frankenheimer's The Island of Dr...

. The cast is composed of principal actors Cliff Curtis

Cliff Curtis

Clifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis is a New Zealand actor who has had major roles in film, including The Piano, Whale Rider, and Blow, and most recently has appeared in NBC's television series Trauma. He is also co-owner of independent film production company Whenua Films...

, Martin Donovan

Martin Donovan

Martin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...

, Balthazar Getty

Balthazar Getty

Balthazar Getty is an American film actor and member of the band Ringside. He is known for the roles of Thomas Grace on the American action drama Alias and Tommy Walker on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.-Early life:...

, Elias Koteas

Elias Koteas

Elias Koteas is a Canadian actor of film and television, best known for his roles in The Prophecy, Fallen and the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.-Early life:...

, Mary McCormack

Mary McCormack

Mary Catherine McCormack is an American actress. Best known for her work in television, she has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series Murder One , as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in The West Wing and as Mary Shannon in In Plain Sight .Her film roles include Private...

, Ritchie Coster

Ritchie Coster

Ritchie Coster is an English film, television and theatre actor. Coster was born in London, England and attended The Latymer School, Edmonton...

, Nelson Lee

Nelson Lee

Nelson Lee is a Taiwanese born Canadian actor who co-starred in the only season of Blade: The Series as Shen, Blade's sidekick and technical support. He also starred in Oz , as inmate Li Chen, and in some episodes of Law & Order.-Selected filmography:-External links:* *...

, and Tony Musante

Tony Musante

Anthony Peter Musante is an American actor.Musante was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Natalie Anne , a school teacher, and Anthony Peter Musante, an accountant. He attended Oberlin College and Northwestern University.Musante has acted in numerous feature films, in the United States...

, while the supporting cast includes Justin Chatwin

Justin Chatwin

Justin Chatwin is a Canadian film actor. He played the son of Tom Cruise's character in the Steven Spielberg-directed War of the Worlds, a leading role in the 2007 mystery/thriller The Invisible, and Goku in Dragonball Evolution...

, Jennifer Rae Westley, Katia Khatchadourian, Johanna Olson, and Brian George

Brian George

Brian George is a British-Israeli actor and voice actor for Indian accents, who typically plays guest roles for characters of South Asian descent. Perhaps his most famous role is as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt on Seinfeld.-Early life:...

.

A DVD was released on November 2, 2004 but is now out of print.